Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Asia Pacific
World
Search
Search:
Thousands of Dutch brave cold for New Year's dip in the sea
AFP - Friday, January 2
THE HAGUE (AFP) - - Thousands of Dutch people stripped Thursday to brave near-freezing temperatures for a heart-stopping North Sea plunge that has become an annual New Year's ritual.
After a countdown from 20, hordes of white, sun-starved bodies in bikinis and bathing trunks raced along the Scheveningen beach in The Hague around lunchtime for a shocking, mostly brief, splash in the waves.
Afterwards, they flocked in droves to nearby tents where they were treated to a mug of traditionally Dutch pea soup.
"It was very, very cold -- but refreshing" said 19-year-old Jorik Spruijt, his teeth chattering as he emerged from the sea and rushed to pull on dry clothes.
"It's a nice, crazy think to do with your friends. Being normal is just boring."
The sea temperature, measured at six degrees Celsius, was about four degrees higher than on land.
"I do it for the kick!" 65-year-old James van den Berg told AFP after completing his 20th New Year's dive.
Organiser Niek de Rooij said the event started 49 years ago as a joke by an individual which soon caught on among his friends and then became a national craze.
"It is all about being a bit crazy, about bonding and about being Dutch really -- doing something totally strange," he told AFP.
Organisers said about 6,500 people took part in Thursday's mass plunge at Scheveningen, about 3,500 fewer than expected. Some 14,000 others took to the waves in other sea-side towns around the Netherlands -- but the event had to be cancelled on four beaches due to ice formation.
"The recent extreme cold weather kept many away, which makes the efforts of those who did show up all the more heroic!" said De Rooij, who has himself done the dive only once, in 1998.
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Related Articles: Entertainment & Lifestyle
Time Warner, Viacom reach deal in principle over fees disputeAFP - 1 hour 27 minutes ago
Alagna, Gheorghiu ring in the new year at the MetAP - Friday, January 2
BC-Best-sellers-Books-PWAP - Friday, January 2
'Mamma Mia!' Britain's biggest-selling DVD everAFP - Thursday, January 1
Album sales plunge, digital downloads upAP - Thursday, January 1
Enlarge Photo
Some 6500 people bath in the North sea in Scheveningen during the traditional New Year Dive. Thousands of Dutch people stripped Thursday to brave near-freezing temperatures for a heart-stopping North Sea plunge that has become an annual New Year's ritual.
Most Popular – Entertainment
Viewed
NASA describes final moments of Columbia tragedy
Actress Jennifer Aniston appears naked in GQ magazine
Japanese tourist spends 3 months in Mexico City airport
Hamas defiant as Israel rejects Gaza truce
World stocks end calamitous 2008, eye recovery
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular